Can they ? ? ?

mum1

Just booked my 2 kids on play scheme, had to pay £234 extra for the wheelchair user who has cp. she needs a 1:1 for personal care so I had to pay for that. What happened to Equality of Access !!

poppy123456

Hi and welcome,

I must admit, i'm with my friend woodbine on this one. I don't think it's anything to do with Equality of access. Your child with the wheelchair needs more care and attention that your other child so the cost will be more.

janer1967

I do tend to agree to disagree yes your child needs more care and they will have to resource this so tyhat is why the cost is higher.  

On the other hand that is exactly the reason why disabled children are sometimes not included in these events as the parents cant afford the cost but should consider maybe this is an expense the DLA should be used for if they receive it

mum1

thank you all x

KarenO_Scope

Hello @mum1. Sorry we didn't pick this up when you posted. I work for the Scope Activities for All project in Leeds. We would have challenged this situation and encourage all activity settings to budget for inclusion just like they would budget for other resources and food, so they can pay for additional staff when they need them. It's a challenging one if you need the childcare and with the current situation. I think you are right about the Equality of Access and that is a large additional cost to find.

I think it would be worth seeing if you could meet with a manager after your children have attended to discuss your concerns and seeing if your local authority have any teams that work with playscheme providers that may be able help. We also support settings to look at volunteer schemes, external grants and fundraising to help them meet additional costs and ensure they can provide inclusive services. Here is a link to the work we do in Leeds https://www.scope.org.uk/family-services/family-activities-leeds/inclusion-quality-mark/ I hope you are able to challenge this situation.